By DARREL RADFORD
Historically Speaking
Imagine a Michael J. Fox-like time machine picking you up and racing backwards through the years. The itinerary includes some strange names – Uniontown, Wheeland, Woodville, Warnock’s Station and a place called Chicago where not a single skyscraper is in sight.
It might surprise you to realize that this time machine never left the confines of Henry County and that those ere names of old, representing towns that later changed their names, faded away or, in some cases, never “got past the paper stage.”
The history of Henry County’s incorporated towns is, indeed interesting. Historian Richard Ratcliff offers an intriguing look at them in his book “Henry County At the Millennium.”
While Uniontown was formed in Dudley Township, it didn’t last nearly as long as current communities Raysville and Ogden. Interestingly, Raysville was named in honor of James Brown Ray, Indiana’s fourth governor, who did much to advance railroad access in the state. There were once 108 miles of active railroad track in Henry County. Ray was the only governor in Indiana history to take over the position while serving as president pro-tem of the Indiana Senate.
Ogden, meanwhile, was founded in 1829 and named for a worker on the National Road project. Ratcliff writes that it actually was once called “Middletown” because it was halfway between Richmond and Indianapolis. The named changed to Ogden in 1838 because another Middletown, of course, already existed in the county. It was platted in 1829.
If you’re looking for Wheeland, no map will help. In his book, Ratcliff writes that the town, founded apparently in 1833, “apparently never passed the paper stage.”
The same fate awaits you if your destination is Woodville or Chicago. Ratcliff said Woodville was founded on the Greensboro-Harrison Township line, but no longer exists. Chicago, founded in 1838 at Liberty Township, was never platted or recorded. Perhaps the church there known as Chicago Corner preserves some of that history.
Rogersville also falls into this category. Laid out in 1837, the Stoney Creek Township community once had a post office, two stores, a mill and two blacksmith shops. Ratcliff writes that today, only two or three houses remain.
Like the pilgrims, Henry County once had its own “Jamestown.” Ratcliff explains that what we now know as New Lisbon was once named after one of its founders – James Donaldson.
If you’re looking for Coffin’s Station, Warnock’s Station or Leonard, your maps need some desperate revisions.
Coffin’s Station is the original name of Dunreith, named in honor of early merchant Emory Dunreith Coffin. Warnock’s Station is now known as Honey Creek. And Leonard was a suggested name for the little town with the big annual fair: Mooreland. It was named after farmer and Civil War veteran Miles M. Moore. He died just four years after the town was formed.
Ratcliff says that a Civil War veteran actually named Grant City. Jacob Green founded the small Henry County town in 1868 in honor of famed Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. Perhaps he was there when then President U.S. Grant visited New Castle in 1871.
According to Ratcliff, Henry County’s 16 incorporated towns are the most of any among Indiana’s 92 counties. Here’s a review of some other Henry County town names and their origins:
— Shirley, platted in 1890, named in honor of Joseph A. Shirley, one-time president of the Indiana, Ohio and Western Railroad.
— Cadiz, laid out in 1836 by David Pickering and named for Cadiz, Belmont County, Ohio.
— Lewisville, founded Christmas Day, 1829, by Lewis C. Freeman and named in his honor because he was the first settler and made the first improvements at the town site.
— Kennard, founded in 1882, was named for Jenkins Kennard, a highly respected farmer of the area.
— Greensboro, formed in 1831, takes its name from Greensboro, N.C., where many of Henry County’s first settlers came from in their search for better lives.
— Mt. Summit, founded in 1854 by Jesse Ice, a veteran of the War of 1812, so named because of its elevation, highest in Henry County.
— Blountsville, named for Andrew Blount, who was, in 1822, the first purchaser of land in what is now Stoney Creek Township.
— Liberty Township, which includes the rural Millville site where Wilbur Wright was born, traces its birth back to 1823.
— New Castle, located in almost the exact geographical center of Henry County, was platted in 1822. Historical sources say the town was named by Englishman Allen Shepherd for New Castle-On-Tyne England or Ezekiel Leavell for New Castle, Henry County, Ky.
— Knightstown — The town name comes not from the man who founded the southwestern Henry County community in 1827, but for Jonathan Knight, an engineer in charge of building the National Road across Indiana. The town founder, Waitsel M. Carey, is recognized by a street named in his honor.
— Straughn, founded in 1868 and named for landowner Merriman Straughn.
Darrel Radford is a Courier-Times contributor and board member for the Henry County Historical Society. Nearly 1,000 people visited the museum in 2013. The museum is now in its winter operation mode but open by appointment. Call 765-529-4028 for tour information